Pt 3A – Return to Opatija 💗

We left Mali Losinj on a blustery day – no rain but gusty winds. The ferry ride was a bit more “rolly” than what I was hoping for so Dramamine was my friend. This particular ferry is a catamaran and not a huge ferry like the one we took to Mali from Zadar. The catamaran was fairly good at riding the waves and it felt a bit like a horse ride. Because it was a smaller vessel, there was no “outside” seating area and therefore indoor riding looking out salt and grit covered windows.

We received a text from the owner of our apartment letting us know she was arranging a taxi pick up because the road was being fixed and she was worried about how we could easily arrive. This was so sweet and very appreciated. We arrived safely and met Daniella who showed us the apartment (very nice) and then took us to the lower yard for a welcome cocktail of homemade brandy made from mistletoe! Apparently her friend and neighbor makes it. Her husband (whose name we have both forgotten, sorry 😕) was sitting at a “socially distanced” table awaiting us. The brandy was pretty powerful – a tiny amount was all we wanted. They live in Rijeka and said that if we needed anything at all to please let them know. So accomodating and kind.

Pt 2 – Zadar & Losinj

We headed by bus to Zadar where we stay for a month. Since we are familiar with this city, finding our apartment was easy. We met with Andrej and walked up to our apartment – 4th (top) floor, no elevator. Skylites provide a view of the top of the church tower.

After settling in, we managed to shop at the local Konzum and bring our purchases back to the apartment. Unfortunately I managed to confuse the entrance with the one next to our building (they look identical); and we walked up to the fourth floor with me having an “A-HA” moment just before the top. 😲 So down we went and made our way next door to the correct building and up again – Andy was not too happy about the up and down with bags of groceries and I cannot fault him there. Lesson learned, did not make the same mistake again 😉.

We could hear the Sea Organ and made our way down to listen. Apparently it is really active during this time of year – we heard it almost every evening. Maybe it’s the change in the water currents during the fall/winter; I don’t know but I love listening to it. Will share a clip from one of our treks.

We made a point to try and view the sunsets and listen to the Sea Organ on an almost daily basis. We often would bring a book and read by the water and people watch. We met two people while by the water. One was a woman named Neven, which means marigold; and the other was a gentleman named Ivan. Both spoke English (Neven was very proficient, Ivan not so much) but very chatty and friendly. Ivan lived right by the Sea Organ and spent his days keeping tabs of the many cats in that area. We had taken to feeding the cats we came across and his area had over a dozen. There is a group of people that try to feed the cats so they are not malnourished at all.

There is a sports area near the Kaufland market, next to a school that is marvelous. They have a walkway and track that are “rubberized” so running or walking is delightful. Additionally the basketball courts which are outside also have this lovely surface and Andy enjoyed it immensely.

The local outdoor market is one that we were familiar with and went to purchase vegetables regularly. There are also butchers’ shops and a fish market. The outdoor market is open until 13:00 so you have plenty of time to shop. The woman butcher at one of the shops we went to in March of this year remembered us from when we were there and gave us some sausages at no charge in addition to the meats we purchased.

Croatia 2nd Visit-Pt 1

We left Malaga by train to Madrid where we spent one night before our flight to Zagreb. Smooth train ride and easy transition to get to our hotel near the airport. We arrived at the ghost-town like airport for our flight and it was virtually empty – everyone masked, socially distanced, and quiet.

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  No one in the Airport

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  Waiting for Shuttle

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  Airport shuttle – EMPTY

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  Art Exhibit

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  Another section of Art Exhibit

Madrid Airport

Upon arriving in Zagreb we found our Airbnb, put down our bags, and then headed to the market for groceries. We went out the following day to get yet another sim card (there are suppliers that don’t transfer to Croatia and vice-versa). Thankfully, we remembered where the shop was and it was a quick purchase and go.

Not much different to report from our first trip. I will share newer photos of what we saw/visited. (FYI: My site is not accepting the “rotated” images so I apologize for the side-ways photos. Will attempt to fix after contacting WP.)

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Next stop, Plitvička Jezera – three days, one park visit, LOTS of photos! I’ve included a link for you if you want more information about this UNESCO World Heritage National Park.

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We took a bus from Zagreb to Plitvička that wound its way through the mountains. Beautiful but curvy road that dropped us off at a small bus stop where we found a local taxi to our place. The taxi ride was short but expensive! We stayed in a “community” that is geared to housing visitors to the park. There were locals but no visitors other than us. 😬 AND we arrived after the only market closed. So this evening we got take out from a small local restaurant specializing in “pizza” and sausages.

The next morning we needed to be up early to trek through the woods to the Park. This is along the route; I’ve included the view from our apartment which was wonderful (large, comfortable, super clean, well appointed):